Submersible pool cleaners having driving mechanisms carried within a housing that engages the submerged surface of the pool are generally well known, such as the three or four wheeled swimming pool pressure cleaners with internal steering mechanism described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,782,578 and 6,854,148 to Rief et al., the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety. Various pool cleaners are turbine driven, as in the aforementioned patents, including a turbine motor as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,292,970, the disclosures of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety. Further, also generally known are the problems associated with debris clogging fluid flow passages, wearing cleaner components rendering the cleaner ineffective or unusable, and the difficulty for a consumer attempting to replace such worn components.
As is well known, and as emphasized in U.S. Pat. No. 6,131,227 to Rief et al, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety, the proper functioning of swimming pool cleaners typically relies on a skirt bordering and extending downwardly from the body of the pool cleaner. The skirt generally maintains an effective fluid suction within a plenum of water proximate the inlet to the cleaner, generally dislodges loose debris, accommodates uneven surfaces, provides a fluid suction force to keep the pool cleaner pressed against the submerged surface and yet allow the pool cleaner to travel up and across submerged steeply inclined and vertical surfaces.
There remains a need to improve upon performance of the submersible pool cleaner such that the pool cleaner can effectively and efficiently automatically navigate over obstacles such as bottom drains and larger debris, and be able to upright itself in the event it should fall on its back. Yet further, when debris flows through the turbine, it is desirable to have the debris work its way through the cleaner while maintaining maximum power without compromising function, and without having to stop automatic operation and access the housing to clean the debris. Those experienced with submersible pool cleaners appreciate that it is desirable to keep the cleaner below the water surface to prevent it from sucking air as it climbs vertical walls of the pool.
Embodiments of the present invention herein described provide an efficiently run submersible cleaner which includes components that are easily replaceable by the consumer and operate to meet such needs.